3PL Partner Briefing | Issue #10 | Week of August 31, 2026

“Do you have customers exposed to spot truck pricing on 1,000+ mile lanes?”

DAT’s latest dry van report put national spot linehaul at $2.19 per mile excluding fuel, 32.4% above the same week last year. Long-haul lanes are worth comparing against intermodal before accepting the truck market at face value.

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“Are your Ohio River or Great Lakes customers seeing tougher truck economics?”

DAT ranked Ohio River at $2.61 per mile and Great Lakes at $2.58 per mile for dry van spot linehaul in the week ending August 28, both more than 36% above year-ago levels.

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“When was the last time your customer re-checked an old intermodal lane?”

U.S. intermodal volume was up 5.7% year over year in the latest AAR week. Equipment, ramp choices and truck competition change, so lanes that did not work before can be worth reviewing again.

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This Week’s Opportunity

Long-haul dry van lanes with spot-market exposure

1,000+ mile domestic lanes · Compare truck and intermodal before committing capacity

U.S. intermodal volume

303,191

Dry van spot linehaul

$2.19/mi

Spot linehaul vs. 2025

+32.4%

Market data: AAR week ending Aug. 29 and DAT report published Sept. 1. Lane-specific intermodal pricing and availability must be confirmed before quoting your customer.

Check a Customer Lane

Market Board

What’s moving this week.

303,191

U.S. intermodal units, +5.7% YoY

$2.19

National dry van spot linehaul / mile, excluding fuel

12.01

DAT load-to-truck ratio, up from 9.62 the prior week

Ohio River / Great Lakes → West

High truck-origin pricing makes long-haul customer lanes worth reviewing for intermodal fit.

Upper Atlantic → West

DAT reported Upper Atlantic dry-van rates up 2.0% week over week; compare rail where transit allows.

U.S. → Canada

Canadian intermodal units were up 7.7% YoY in the latest AAR week. Worth evaluating lane by lane.

Short-haul / tight transit

Truck often remains the better fit. Ramp, dray, timing and total economics still decide the answer.

Built for 3PL Partners

Your customer stays your customer.

LaserNet is designed to support, not compete with, the 3PL relationship. We work behind the scenes as the intermodal resource supporting your customer solution.

The 3PL maintains the customer relationship
LaserNet supports intermodal pricing and routing
LaserNet coordinates rail and dray as applicable
LaserNet provides shipment visibility and operational support

Add intermodal capability without adding another competitor.

Have a Customer Lane?

Send us the basics. We’ll help you evaluate the intermodal option.

Origin, destination, volume, timing and any operating requirements are enough to start.

Request a Lane Review Call (904) 551-7544

The 3PL Partner Briefing is published every Monday by LaserNet Jax, a direct Intermodal Marketing Company with direct railroad contracts across CSX, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, CN and CPKC. Built specifically to help freight brokers and 3PLs identify intermodal opportunities for their customers. Market figures are sourced from AAR and DAT. Lane-specific rates and availability should always be confirmed before quoting.

Three conversations worth having with your customers this week.

Long-haul dry van lanes with spot-market exposure

What’s moving this week.

Your customer stays your customer.

Send us the basics. We’ll help you evaluate the intermodal option.

Get the 3PL Partner Briefing.